Completing the Cut - The Craft of the Cut - page 123

Figure 7.20 How Compound clips can be used as individual scenes for your project.
To create an empty Compound clip in the Event Browser, select an Event in the Event Library and choose
File ⇒ New Compound Clip or press Option+G. A dialog box appears allowing you to follow the procedure out-
lined above.
Adding Transitions
A transition is how one shot changes to another in an edited sequence. Whenever you add a new clip to the
Timeline, it “cuts” to and from the clips that it's placed next to. This changeover from clip to clip can be altered
by adding a transition effect between the edit point of the two clips. Transition effects can be as subtle as a
simple fade or cross-dissolve or as audacious as a garish star wipe with thick pink borders.
So far, you've been using cuts from one shot to another in the Bump in the Night sequence. For most projects, a
simple cut, fade, and cross-dissolve is all that's necessary. In fact, transition effects are best used sparingly be-
cause they can make a production look tacky if they're overused.
Adding simple dissolves
Final Cut Pro supplies a whole host of transitions, and the types you choose will mainly depend on your pro-
ject's needs. However, the transition effects that you'll most often turn to are the fade-in/fade-out and cross-dis-
solve. A fade-in starts on black and gradually illuminates to the shot's full exposure, and a fade-out does the
same in reverse. Fade-in and fade-outs are regularly used together and can be used to signify the passage of
time or the completion of a dramatic point in the story, such as the end of an act break.
The default transition in Final Cut Pro is the cross-dissolve. A cross-dissolve superimposes the end of one shot
and the beginning of another with a fade-in and fade-out and is also typically used to convey the passage of
time.
To apply a cross-dissolve between clips in the Timeline, select an edit point from one of the clips and choose
Edit ⇒ Add Cross Dissolve or press +T.